10 Great Reasons to Read Fiction in June

Posted by Christy Thomas on Friday, June 6th, 2014

Ready for your first great book of the summer? Here are 10 great titles coming out in June.

The Book of Unknown Americansby Cristina HenríquezThe Riveras exchange their happy life in Mexico for a new life in Delaware so that their teenage daughter, a victim of a traumatic brain injury, can attend a special school. Their new apartment building is a haven for immigrants from all over Central America and the setting for dramas that unfold and intersect. “Each scene, voice, misunderstanding, and alliance is beautifully realized and brimming with feeling in the acclaimed Henríquez's compassionately imagined, gently comedic, and profoundly wrenching novel of big dreams and crushing reality, courageous love and unfathomable heartbreak” (Booklist). Henríquez is the author of The World in Half and Come Together, Fall Apart.

Song of the Shankby Jeffery Renard AllenAllen’s new historical novel imagines the true story of Thomas Wiggins, a boy born into slavery in Georgia in the Civil War era who was blind, autistic, and an internationally acclaimed and gifted young pianist popularly known as “Blind Tom”. Kirkus Reviews claims “If there’s any justice, Allen’s visionary work, as startlingly inventive as one of his subject’s performances, should propel him to the front rank of American novelists.” Allen was the winner of the 2000 PEN Discovery Prize for the novel Rails Under My Back.

Everything I Never Told Youby Celeste NgEverything I Never Told You is a debut novel from a Pushcart Prizewinner about the drowning death of teenage Lydia Lee and the devastation that follows for her loved ones. Library Journal draws comparisons with the debuts of Ha Jin, Chang-rae Lee, and Chimamanda Adichie, saying “Ng constructs a mesmerizing narrative that shrinks enormous issues of race, prejudice, identity, and gender into the miniaturist dynamics of a single family.”

The Antiquarianby Gustavo Faveron Patriau, translated by Joseph MulliganGustavo gets a call from his old friend Daniel, who has been in a mental institution for years following the confessed murder of his girlfriend and subsequent suicide attempt. Daniel regales him with a confusing series of mysterious stories, fables and bits of history, sending psycholinguist Gustavo on a quest to interpret these clues and determine the truth behind his friend’s crimes. This debut novel from a Peruvian literary critic and scholar is getting unanimous raves. Publishers Weekly calls it a “perfect blend of page-turning narrative and knockout prose” and “the best literary puzzle of the summer.”

The Rise & Fall of Great Powersby Tom RachmanTooly Zylberberg spent her childhood being whisked around the world, first with her father, then her mother, and then with a loosely formed crew that included a sly con artist. Now in her early 30s and settled as a bookseller in a small village in Wales, she looks back on it all and tries to make sense of who her family truly is. Kirkus calls The Rise & Fall of Great Powers “brilliantly structured, beautifully written and profoundly sad.” Rachman is also the author of the fantastically charming, funny and heartfelt debut The Imperfectionists(2010), about a staff of journalists working at an English-language newspaper in Rome in the times of the demise of print journalism.

Time of the Locustby Morowa YejideBrenda Thompson struggles to connect with her autistic son, 7-year-old Sephiri, who prefers to escape to an imaginary underwater world in his imagination. But Sephiri’s incarcerated father Horus, serving 25 years to life for the revenge killing of the cop that murdered his own father, believes he can telepathically communicate with his son in dreams. “At times almost mystical in its intensity, Yejidé’s prose brings lyricism to her dark subject matter and unhappy characters, eventually introducing a kind of magical restoration to her shattered fictional family” (Kirkus Reviews).

Elizabeth Is Missingby Emma HealeyMaud’s friend is missing, but no one will believe her since she’s falling under the grip of dementia. Now she must investigate her friend’s disappearance—or has she disappeared at all?—and perhaps solve another mystery from half a century earlier. Library Journal delivers this praise: “Suspenseful and emotional in equal parts, the author's debut hits all the right notes.”

A Replacement Lifeby Boris FishmanMinsk-born Slava Gelman is struggling to make his way as a literary journalist in New York when his grandfather asks him for help with an application for reparations from Germany for death camp survivors—requiring some serious creativity with the truth. Soon Slava gets a reputation for this crooked expertise and is overwhelmed with similar requests from all over Brooklyn. A Replacement Life is a “darkly comic, world-wise debut” (Kirkus) that “shines with a love for language and craft” (Publishers Weekly).

Euphoriaby Lily KingInspired by the life of Margaret Mead, Euphoria tells the story of three anthropologists in 1930s New Guinea, and how professional competitiveness and sexual tensions disrupt their work and lives. Publishers Weekly calls Euphoria a “thrilling read” and Kirkus Reviews calls it “a small gem, disturbing and haunting.”

I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without Youby Courtney MaumBritish artist Richard Haddon is reeling from two infidelities: he has cheated on his wife, and he has sold out as an artist. Now he realizes how much these both mean to him and he's struggling to get both his wife and his artistic integrity back. "Equally funny and touching, the novel strikes deep, presenting a sincere exploration of love and monogamy" (Publishers Weekly).